Pressure drum manhole cover and internal support therefor



Nov. 3, 1953 F H. SKINNER 2,657,823

E COVER D PRESS bRuM MAN IN NAL SUPPO THEREF Filed April 8, 1952, 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR I Floyd H. Skinner ATTOR Y Nov. 3, 1953 F. H. SKINNER PRESSURE DRUM MANHOLE COVER-AND INTERNAL SUPPORT THEREFOR 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 8, 1952 INVENTOR.

Floyd H. Skinner SUPFOR HEREFO Filed April 8, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Nov. 3, 1953 F. H. SKINNER 2,657,823

PRESSURE o M MANHOLE COVER INTERN T T INVE R Floyd H. inner Patented Nov. 3, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PRESSURE DRUM MANHOLE COVERHND INTERNAL SUPPORT THEREFOR Floyd H. SkinnenParkchesten-N. Y.,assignor to Combustion Engineering, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application "April 8, 1952,lSerial.NoJ 281;111

L3Claims. 1 This invention relates to. improved supports vfor manhole covers inside .of pressure vessels :and particularly to manholecovers-for the steamand Water separating drums of steamgenerators.

vIn a steam generator drum oontainingsteam separating or washing apparatus, the drum space is'generally divided into compartments, Zone of which receives steam and water mixture from the steam generating-tubes of said generator. From this one compartment the mixture flows in to'and through apparatusiinwhich the steamand water are separated-or wherein the steam is washed, whence the steam flows into another compart- 'ment comprising the remaining portion of the drum. Thisotherorrsecond .compartment is at .a pressure below that :of the first mentioned compartmentand thereforemust be sealed there- 'from by suitable means including end sealing partitions. Saidzsealing ;partitions-extend transversely of the drum beyond the :end tubes that vessel for said movement.

Additional objects and advantageswillbecome apparent from :the :following description of illustrative embodiments of the .'.invention when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is'an exteriorview of atypicallyhorizontally disposed steam and "water drum taken from the side thereof.

Figure 2 is a horizontal longitudinal sectional view taken along 'line"2-'2:of Fig. 1 with the manhole cover and improvedmeans for "supporting the "same s'hown in elevation.

Figure'B is an elevation taken on line :3-3 of Fig. "2 showing the'man'hole :cover in'the closed position together with the improved acover supporting means.

Figures 4 and 5 are similar to Figss2 and Band show a modification of the invention.

'In the drawings, wherein like symbols represent .like parts, pressure vessel .1 is shown as said manhole.

having an outwardly dished head -2 with an inwardly extending flanged portion 3 forming-a manhole 4. An inside cover 5 contacts seat 6 of said flanged portion -3 and forms a closure for Bolts 1 extend outwardly from said cover through suitable holes in arches 8. The he'adsB of said bolts Tremovablyiit into sockets l0 provided in'the cover5. Nuts ll, threadedly received on the outer end of said bolts, bear against the outer surface of archesB, which in turn'bear against the outer surface of head 2 as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and- 4. By-drawingup on the 'nuts H cover 5 is held infirm-engagement with seat 6.

When the bolts 1 "and arches 8 are removed, the cover 5 issup'por-ted by means of a suitable link l2 rotatably securedto said cover and to vessel head 2. In "the organization shown in 'Figs. 2 and 3 link 42 ismounted to rotate around the center a:provided:in bracket r3 secured'to the vessel ."head 2 as "by welding. Said bracket 13 is generally :u shaped and has its flanges l4 bored to receive leg ii of link H, with leg l6 of said link being rotatably received by a similarbracket ll secured to cover 5. Said bracket I1 is also generally U-shaped and has its flanges I8 bored therewith cover'5.

When sai'd'cover M5 is swung away from the manhole 4 about *pivot a toits'extreme position within vessel I -(as 'indicatedby the dot-dash'line 2| in Fig. 2) it is then so positioned as to occupy theleast possible distance longitudinally of the drum while being entirely free of said manhole 4. Such location of the cover 5 in steam and water drum I not only provides free access to the interior of said drum but in addition provides that any transverse partition, such aspartition 22, may be positioned more closely to head 2 "thereby reducing the overall length of drum required with obvious savings in material and handling.

Partition 22 may be the-'end' plateof apparatus such as a steam separator. or steam washer through which passe's all of the steam and water mixture 'beingdischargedinto drum I via steam generating tubes 28. Said partition 22 'must be located outwardly-of the e'ndmostof said tubes 23 in order to direct said steam and Water mixture through said steamseparator or washer wherefore it is apparent that the overall length ofdrum I depends not only on the number of longitudinaliv arranged steam generating tubes 23 but also on the distance between partition 22 and drum head 2 required to move cover 5 from the closed to the extreme open position. This distance becomes a practical minimum when cover 5, in its extreme open position, is in the location shown by the dot-dash line 2|.

I have found that said cover 5 may best be swung into said open position with the least possible longitudinal distance of said vessel being required when the pivotal center a of bracket I1 is offset from the center f of said cover in a direction generally toward bracket l3 as viewed in the cover closed (the solid line) position of Fig. 2. If the center a were located centrally of cover 5 (at f), as has been customary heretofore, said cover 5 would be further from the drum head 2 when in the open position, by a distance equal to a'f'. Drum head 2 would then have to be moved away from the partition 22 to provide the additional clearance for said cover 5 and consequently the overall drum length would have to be increased.

The amount of offset from the center of the cover is not limited to the distance a')" or a,f", but may be greater or even somewhat less. In Fig. 2 are shown arbitrarily chosen offsets bf, cf' and df corresponding to b"f", c"f" and d"f" respectively, in the position indicated by dot-dash line 2|. Each of these offsets permits the cover 5 to rotate about pivots b, c and d respectively, from closed to extreme open positions within the same limited distance between parti tion 22 and drum head 2. The extreme open position of cover 5 will, in each case, be substantially the same as that shown by the dot-dash line 2|. The radii bb', cc and dd or correspondingly bb", cc and dd" of the respective links, will be substantially the same as the radius ad or an. of link l2. It is to be understood that the locations of the pivots a, b, c and d, with respect to their distance from the drum is not limited to those shown so long as their centers fall on lines bisecting the angles a'aa", bbb", '00" and d'dd" respectively. The distance that said pivots can be moved inwardly is, however, limited by the necessity of avoiding interference with the front face of cover when said cover occupies its extreme open position.

The distance that pivotal centers a, a are spaced apart, i. e., the effective length of link I2, can conveniently be made to substantially equal the distance between pivotal center a and the farthest edge 26 of cover 5; since with said link being of such length and with said center a displaced outwardly of seat 6 said edge 26 will easily clear said seat when the cover is moved to the extreme open position.

The modification shown in Figs. 4 and 5 is similar to that just described with the exception that the connection of the link with the manhole cover is through the medium of an additional connector link rather than directly to said cover.

Referring specifically to said Figs. 4 and 5 it will be noted that link 29, by way of example only, is shown as connecting pivotal centers b, b in lieu of a, a as in the case of the embodiment of Figs. 2 and 3. Said link 29 has one end rotatably mounted about a pivotal center b in bracket member I3 and the other end received within suitable openings provided in connector link 28 for rotation about a pivotal center I), which pivotal center is offset from the center of cover 5 as shown.

Said connector link 28 is pivoted to bracket ll through the medium of pin 21 disposed in aligned openings in said connector link and said bracket. Said bracket II, in this embodiment, is located centrally of the cover wherefore the pivotal center located within said bracket, herein designated 1', also has a central location.

The provision of pivotally mounted connector link 28 permits adjustment of cover member 5 with respect to seat 6 as well as providing the desired offset for pivotal center b. Thus, in this embodiment, the cover is universally adjustable since connector link 28 provides adjustment lengthwise of link [2 while the mounting of the leg of said link in the openings in said connector link 28 provides adjustment laterally of said lin It will thus be seen that I have provided a novel support for the manhole cover of a steam and water drum which permits said cover to be swung to and from an extreme open position where it is entirely free of the manhole opening while requiring the least possible distance longitudinally of the drum.

While illustrative embodiments of my invention have been here shown and described, it will be understood that changes in construction, combination and arrangement of the parts may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

I claim:

1. In a pressure drum having a generally rounded end portion with a manhole opening centrally thereof formed by means of an inwardly projecting flange providing a seat means at its inner extremity, a manhole cover for said opening arranged to seat on said seat means and a partition extending transversely of said drum at a predetermined distance from said end; the improvement comprising means for supporting said cover within said vessel in a manner to permit movement thereof from a closed position in engagement with said seat to an open position entirely free of interference with access to the interior of said drum through said opening, said means including a generally U-shaped link having one leg thereof pivotally mounted within said drum about a pivotal axis located outwardly of said seat and adjacent to said rounded end, the other end of said link being effectively pivoted to said cover about an axis laterally offset a predetermined distance from the center of said cover in a direction toward the axis of rotation of said one leg when said cover occupies its closed position in engagement with said seat, the effective length of said link being substantially equal to the distance from said effective pivotal axis to the most remote edge of said cover with the legs of said link being of sufficient length to permit rotation of said cover through the space enclosed by said legs, whereby said link may be rotated about its pivotal connection to the drum to move said cover from the closed to the extreme open position simultaneously with which said cover may be rotated in the opposite direction about said effective pivotal axis to a point where the edge of said cover that is most remote from said effective pivotal axis lies in juxtaposition to but spaced from said seat thereby requiring a practical minimum predetermined distance between said transverse partition and said drum end for the opening and closing movement of said cover.

2. In a pressure drum having a generally rounded end portion with a manhole opening centrally thereof formed by means of an inward- 1y projecting flange providing a seat means at its inner extremity, a manhole cover for said opening arranged to seat on said seat means and a partition extending transversely of said drum at a predetermined distance from said end; the improvement comprising means for supporting said cover within said vessel in a manner to permit movement thereof from a closed position in engagement with said seat to an open position entirely free of interference with access to the interior of said drum through said opening, said means including a generally U-shaped link having one leg thereof pivotally mounted within said drum about a vertical axis located outwardly of said seat and adjacent said rounded end, a support bracket. secured to the inner face of said cover a predetermined distance laterally of the center thereof in a direction toward the axis of rotation of said one leg when said cover occupies the closed position in engagement with said seat, the other leg of said link being rotatably received within suitable openings in said support bracket in a manner to provide a similarly laterally displaced pivotal axis, for said cover, the efl'ective length of said link being substantially equal to the distance from said pivotal axis for said cover to the most remote edge of said cover and the legs of said link being of suflicient length to permit rotation of said cover through the space enclosed by said legs, whereby said link may be rotated about its pivotal connection to the drum to move said cover from the closed to the extreme open position simultaneously with which said cover may be rotated in the opposite direction about its pivotal axis toward a, point where the edge of said cover that is most remote from the covers pivotal axis lies in juxtaposition to but spaced from said seat, thereby requiring a practical minimum predetermined distance between said transverse portion and said end for the opening and closing movement of said cover.

3. In a pressure drum having a generally rounded end portion with a manhole opening centrally thereof formed by means of an inwardly projecting flange providing a seat means at its inner extremity, a manhole cover for said opening arranged to seat on said seat means and a partition extending transversely of said drum at a predetermined distance from said end; the improvement comprising means for supporting said cover within said vessel in a manner to permit movement thereof from a closed position in engagement with said seat to an open position entirely free of interference with access to the interior of said drum through said opening, said means including a generally U-shaped support link having one leg thereof pivotally mounted within said drum about a pivotal axis located outwardly of said seat and adjacent said rounded end, a bracket secured centrally of said cover, a connector link pivoted to said bracket about a centrally disposed axis generally parallel to the axis of rotation of said one leg, the other end of said support link being pivotally secured to the distal end of said connector link with the pivotal axis being located a predetermined distance laterally of the center of the cover in a direction toward the axis of rotation of said one leg when said cover occupies the closed position in engagement with said seat, the effective length of said support link being substantially equal to the distance from said pivotal axis of said other leg to the most remote edge of said cover and the legs of said support link being of sufficient length to permit rotation of said cover through the space enclosed by said legs, whereby said support link may be rotated about its pivotal connection to the drum to move said cover from the closed to the extreme open position simultaneously with which said cover may be rotated in the opposite direction about the pivotal axis for said other leg to a point where the aforementioned remote edge of said cover lies in juxtaposition to but spaced from said seat, thereby requiring a practical minimum predetermined distance between said transverse partition and said head for the opening and closing movement of said cover.

FLOYD H. iSKINNER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

